How to Search Ramsey County Arrest Records
Three official sources cover Ramsey County arrest records. The first is the Adult Detention Center roster, which lists current and recent bookings. The second is MCRO, which lists criminal court cases after charges are filed. The third is the BCA Minnesota Public Criminal History Search, which lists convictions linked through fingerprints. Each source has a different scope. The Sheriff's main page sits at ramseycountymn.gov/sheriffs-office.
For a recent arrest, start with the roster. For a court charge, start with MCRO. For employment or licensing checks, start with the BCA portal. The Ramsey County Attorney's Office handles felony prosecutions for the county.
The County Attorney's Office handles felony prosecutions and connects to the Ramsey County arrest records workflow at the case-filing stage.
- For a current booking, open the ADC roster at the inmate records page.
- For a court charge, open MCRO Case Search and pick Ramsey under Court Locations.
- For a fingerprint-linked criminal history, open the BCA Minnesota Public Criminal History Search.
- For an outstanding warrant, open the Sheriff's Online Warrant Search.
- For a record older than 90 days that was not formally charged, expect limited online data.
Arrest Record vs Criminal Court Record
An arrest record and a court record are not the same file. The arrest record comes from the police or Sheriff. It tracks the booking, the arresting charge, and the jail intake. The court record comes from the District Court. It tracks the prosecutor's formal charges, the hearings, and the disposition. Many arrests never lead to a court case. Many court cases do not start with an arrest.
| Topic | Arrest Record | Criminal Court Record |
|---|---|---|
| Created by | Ramsey County Sheriff or arresting agency | Ramsey County District Court (Second Judicial District) |
| Trigger | Booking at the Adult Detention Center | Prosecutor files a complaint or indictment |
| Best source | ADC roster on open data | MCRO Case Search |
| Charge type | Arrest Charge and level | Formal Charge, level, and court file number |
| Disposition | None at booking stage | Plea, verdict, sentence, dismissal |
| Restrictions | Section 13.82 nonpublic categories | Sealed, expunged, juvenile carve-outs |
Ramsey County Jail Bookings and Mugshots
The Adult Detention Center at 425 Grove Street, Saint Paul, MN 55101, phone 651-266-9350, is a 500-bed pretrial facility. Its roster updates every 30 minutes and includes recent bookings, arresting charges, formal charges if filed, and judicial information such as court file numbers, court dates, and hearing locations. The open data story metadata says the public set covers the last 90 days, including today. The county page says records remain visible while a person is in custody and for five days after release.
The roster does not publish mugshots in the open data API; the photo, if used, sits in the visual story page. The roster pulls from four datasets: bookings, court by person, arresting charges, and formal charges.
The dataset metadata is at opendata.ramseycountymn.gov for arresting charges.
County Attorney John J. Choi's official biography frames the office's work on traffic-stop reform and conviction integrity that affect Ramsey County arrest records flow.
Charges vs Convictions in Ramsey County
A charge on a court docket is not a conviction. A criminal case can end in a guilty plea, a guilty verdict, a not-guilty verdict, a dismissal, a stay of imposition, a stay of adjudication, or a continuance for dismissal. Only some of those count as convictions on a criminal history. The MCRO docket shows each step in the Register of Actions. The conviction is the disposition entry, not the charge label.
| Topic | Charge | Conviction |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Complaint or citation filed by prosecutor | Plea or verdict accepted by the court |
| Stage | Early in the case | End of the case |
| Visible on | MCRO charge line, ADC formal-charge dataset | MCRO disposition entry, BCA criminal history |
| Effect | None on criminal history yet | Counts toward criminal record |
| Can be cleared | Yes — case can be dismissed | Only through expungement or pardon |
BCA Public Criminal History Search
The Minnesota Judicial Branch tells users to run background checks on the BCA portal, not on MCRO. The BCA Public Criminal History Search at chs.state.mn.us links criminal history through fingerprints, which is the proper standard for employment, licensing, and tenant screening. The system is also described on the BCA background-check page. MCRO results are unofficial and can miss aliases or fingerprint matches.
The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act controls what court and law-enforcement data are public. The general access rule is at section 13.03. Law-enforcement data is at section 13.82, including arrest data and warrant indices. Criminal history data is at section 13.87.
The full data practices statute that controls Ramsey County arrest records access is at revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/13.03.
Section 13.03 is the backbone of the public-records framework for Ramsey County arrest records and county data requests.
Restricted and Sealed Ramsey County Arrest Records
Some Ramsey County arrest records are off the public web. Juvenile delinquency records are limited under Minnesota Statutes § 260B.171. CHIPS and Juvenile Delinquency Felony 16 cases do not show on MCRO. Active investigative data are not public under section 13.82. Some warrant index entries stay confidential until the warrant is served. Domestic abuse OFP and Harassment Restraining Order cases do not appear on the public web because of the federal Violence Against Women Act.
The juvenile statute itself is at revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/260B.171.
The juvenile-records statute controls how Ramsey County arrest records for minors are kept and released.
Sealed vs Expunged Arrest Records
Minnesota expungement under Chapter 609A seals a record from public view but does not destroy it. The court file still exists. Law enforcement, prosecutors, the FBI, immigration, and some agencies keep access for criminal investigation, sentencing, and supervision. The Attorney General's expungement guide repeats that point: expungement is sealing, not erasure. A judge of the Ramsey County District Court must sign the order.
| Topic | Sealed | Expunged |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Restricts access to the record | Court order under Chapter 609A sealing the record |
| Who can still see it | Courts, parties, attorneys with authorization | Courts, prosecutors, law enforcement, FBI, immigration |
| Source order | Statute or judge's order at filing | Petition-based or automatic expungement |
| Visible on MCRO | No | No |
| Visible on BCA public CHS | No | No |
Recent clean-slate changes added automatic expungement for some convictions. The BCA was given new duties to identify records that qualify. Arrests with no charges may be handled under section 299C.11, which lets a person ask for the arrest record to be returned or destroyed in certain cases. The full expungement framework is at revisor.mn.gov.
Chapter 609A is the engine behind a Ramsey County arrest records sealing petition.
Ramsey County Attorney and Public Defender
Felony cases in Ramsey County are prosecuted by the County Attorney's Office, led by John J. Choi. The main number is 651-266-3222. The office handles vulnerable victims, public safety, domestic violence, sex trafficking, sexual assault response, drug-law reform, conviction integrity, and youth restorative response. The traffic-stop reform initiative reduced minor equipment stops, raised the share of moving violations, and cut racial disparities for those stops and searches by more than half.
The County Attorney's law-enforcement data work also relies on Minnesota Statutes § 13.82. The statute is at revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/13.82.
Section 13.82 controls Ramsey County arrest data, request-for-service data, and warrant index records.
Defendants who cannot afford an attorney get representation through the State of Minnesota Board of Public Defense, Second Judicial District. The Public Defender handles misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, felonies, and child protection. JusticePoint runs adult pretrial services under a county partnership.
How to Clear a Ramsey County Arrest Record
Most expungement work in Ramsey County goes through a petition filed in the District Court. The Self-Help Service Center at 651-266-5125 and the Volunteer Lawyers Network expungement clinic at the Ramsey County Law Library both help with the forms. The clinic meets the fourth Thursday of each month from 1 to 3 p.m. on the 18th floor of the main courthouse.
- Pull every Ramsey County District Court case number from MCRO or the Records Office.
- Decide whether the file qualifies for petition-based or automatic expungement under Chapter 609A.
- Complete the Minnesota Judicial Branch expungement forms with each case captioned.
- Serve the prosecutor, the BCA, and other listed agencies as required by the rules.
- File the petition with the District Court Records office and pay the filing fee unless a fee waiver applies.
- Attend the hearing. The judge reviews eligibility, rehabilitation, and the balance against public safety.
- If granted, the order stays open for an appeal window before the seal takes effect.
Arrests that never produced a court case may be handled outside the court process under Minnesota Statutes § 299C.11 through the BCA, not the District Court.